Uggh!! I was really looking forward to seeing Kells on July 1 in New York at the ‘Groovin in the Park’ Concert. Unfortunately, this is not happening and the whole situation is sounding a lot like a repeat of last summer’s Reggae Sumfest!! Well, maybe not. According to R. Kelly’s peeps, he was never officially part of the concert to begin with!

R. Kelly’s reps state that the confusion stems from what would appear to be an overzealous promoter. The R&B icon’s camp issued the following:

R. Kelly wants his fans to know he will not be headlining or performing at the annual Groovin’ in the Park concert on Sunday July 1st at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York. Recent advertisements and news stories to the contrary are inaccurate and were made without authorization (apparently due to miscommunication among the promoters of the event) since no deal for the event was ever concluded.

Beenie Man (he secured a work visa, yippee!) has been added in R. Kelly’s sted but will not fill the void left by R. Kelly. Beenie Man is a great entertainer, performer and even a self-proclaimed “King of the Dancehall” but he is NOT an R&B crooner. This leaves previously-announced Boyz II Men as the only R&B act at the moment however, promoters are in the process of securing another R&B act:

We have added Dachehall Reggae Icon Beenie Man and are working hard to confirm an exciting high calibre R&B artist to the line up. An announcement will be forthcoming in the media shortly.

Jimmy Cliff (who kicked off the 2012 season of Celebrate Brooklyn last night in Prospect Park) and Beres Hammond are still the main headliners. Tickets are $69.50 – $150 and still available.